Norwich City 5 Bristol Rovers 1

As a compare and contrast exercise, Bristol Rovers' fortunes against a couple of clubs who were playing Championship football last season could hardly have been more different.

The elation and sense of optimism heightened by the dramatic last-gasp win at Southampton last Tuesday was brutally punctured as the Pirates came crashing back down to earth at Carrow Road.

To put things in some sort of context, a haul of three points from two difficult away games against sides who were plying their trade at a higher level last term is far from disastrous.

But that will not make the manner of their defeat in East Anglia any less painful for another sizeable away following, although it has to be said that the Canaries looked the best side Rovers have faced this season by some considerable margin.

The Pirates were taken to pieces in the first half by a mixture of the home side's ruthless efficiency going forward and some uncharacteristically shoddy defending.

"We didn't get off to a good start and when you are 4-1 down at half-time it's always going to be a struggle," said Rovers midfielder Dominic Blizzard, who came off the bench in the second half.

"They created a lot of chances against us and at times we were very poor defensively.

"Now we have to learn from the mistakes we made and go and work on things on the training ground."

Bristol Rovers failed to deal with the power and movement of two-goal Grant Holt and strike partner Chris Martin, but it was Wes Hoolahan who was one of the main architects of the Pirates' downfall.

He played a part in Norwich's opener, winning the free-kick that Martin curled past the visitors' defensive wall and the hapless Mikkel Andersen in the ninth minute, and caused Rovers all sorts of problems operating from the hole behind the front two.

"He was playing in a free role behind the strikers and from a position like that, it was hard to pick him up," acknowledged Blizzard.

"Our defenders don't know whether to go and mark him and when he came into midfield it gave them an extra man, so it's very hard to stop."

The next two goals were the products of a couple of dubious penalty decisions.

Rovers were back on level terms when Jeff Hughes stylishly converted a spot kick awarded for an alleged foul on Jo Kuffour by Jens Berthel Askou.

Five minutes later, it appeared as though referee Andy Hall was trying to even things up by penalising Byron Anthony for an innocuous challenge on Hoolahan, who picked himself up to fire home.

Both managers said afterwards that they thought each of the penalty awards was questionable, but Norwich's second goal sparked an horrendous collapse by Rovers, who were to concede three goals in nine minutes.

They promptly allowed Simon Lappin's corner to progress across the face of their goal to offer Holt a gift from six yards out.

And before the break, the former Nottingham Forest and Shrewsbury marksman – not exactly known for his pace – cruised through their defence before converting with a fierce angled drive.

At times during the opening period it had looked as though Norwich must have had at least one extra player on the pitch and the home supporters were chorusing "We want seven" at the interval – a reference to their own side's opening-day humiliation by Colchester.

But that scoreline looked a distinctly worrying possibility when Martin was presented with another glorious chance soon after the break, only to head wide from eight yards with the goal at his mercy.

Bristol Rovers at least gave a better account of themselves in the second period, but what openings they did create came to nothing as players made the wrong decisions at crucial moments.

Carl Regan chose to shoot from a tight angle and saw his shot turned wide as team-mates waited for a pass on the edge of the six-yard box.

Danny Coles got around the back of Norwich's defence but also tried a shot from an acute angle and found only the side-netting.

Norwich threatened to add further goals and Andersen had to grab a Holt volley at the second attempt, while substitute Stephen Hughes went close with a 25-yarder which drifted narrowly wide.

But the Canaries saved their final goal for stoppage-time. Hoolahan was once again their tormentor and substitute Jamie Cureton, once a Gas favourite, was heaping more misery on his hometown club by ramming the ball high into their net.

There was almost a painful inevitability about it, and Rovers will have longer to dwell on the result than they would like with no game on their agenda until their trip to Southend on Saturday week.

"It's frustrating because after a result like that you want to go out and right the wrongs, but we haven't got a game for a while now," said Blizzard. "At least it gives us a bit more time to work on the things that we need to.

"We're still third and the more minutes I get on the pitch is a bonus for me. It was well documented that I missed a lot of pre-season because of illness and I've had to be patient because things had been going well.

"I've been training hard so I'm just a bit rusty in terms of games."

Norwich: Rudd, Spillane (McVeigh 51), Doherty, Berthel Askou, Drury, Martin, Russell (Hughes 77), Smith, Lappin, Holt (Cureton 82), Hoolahan. Subs not used: Forster, Adeyemi, Daley, McDonald.

Bristol Rovers: Andersen, Regan, Coles, Anthony, Lescott, Wright (Williams 56), Lines (Blizzard 58), Campbell, Hughes, Dixon (Duffy 71), Kuffour. Subs not used: Evans, Elliott, Reece, Swallow.